1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle in which an inverter for supplying electric power to a motor for traveling (traveling motor) is mounted in a front space.
2. Description of Related Art
A vehicle that travels by using an electric motor includes an inverter that converts direct current (DC) power output from a high-voltage power supply to alternative current (AC) power and supplies the AC power to the electric motor. Examples of the high-voltage power supply are a battery and a fuel cell. The inverter is often mounted in a front space (a front compartment) of the vehicle. To simplify the description below, the electric motor will simply be referred to as the motor.
The inverter is provided with an interlock so as to prevent a person from accidentally touching a component in the inverter while a high voltage is applied thereto. Examples of the inverter that includes the interlock are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-136097 (JP 2006-136097 A) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-014577 (JP 2006-014577 A). With each of the interlocks that are disclosed in these publications, a cover of the inverter cannot be released unless the inverter is electrically shut off from a high-voltage battery. Also regarding a connector (a high-voltage connector) of a high-voltage power line that supplies the electric power from the high-voltage battery to the inverter, exposure of a terminal, to which the high voltage is applied, is unfavorable. Thus, some of the high-voltage connectors cannot be released unless the high-voltage connector is electrically shut off from the high-voltage battery.
Note that a voltage of 60 volts or higher is defined as the “high voltage” in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) of the United States. Meanwhile, in the “Announcement that prescribes Details of the Safety Regulations for Road Vehicles (Oct. 28, 2011), Annex 111” of Japan, an operation voltage that is over 60 DC volts and 1500 DC volts or lower or that is over 30 AC volts (an effective value) and 1000 AC volts (an effective value) or lower is defined as the “high voltage”.
By the way, the inverter that handles the high voltage also has components such as a control circuit that is operated by a low voltage. Thus, a connector (a low-voltage connector) of a low-voltage power line that supplies electric power from a low-voltage battery is connected to the inverter. That is, the high-voltage connector and the low-voltage connector are connected to the inverter. Here, the low voltage means a voltage that is lower than an output voltage of the high-voltage battery, and is typically 50 volts or lower.
Meanwhile, a large number of wire harnesses are arranged in a front space of the vehicle that travels by using the motor. Several wire harnesses are also arranged around the inverter. As one type of a layout, the wire harness is arranged at the rear of the inverter in such a manner as to extend in a vehicle width direction. Meanwhile, there is a case where such a structure is adopted in which the above-described low-voltage connecter is connected to an upper surface of the inverter while the high-voltage connector is connected to a rear surface of the inverter. In the cases where the vehicle with such a structure is involved in a frontal collision (or an oblique frontal collision) and the inverter moves rearward due to a shock during the collision, the low-voltage connector, which is connected to the upper surface of the inverter, is possibly caught by the wire harness and is possibly damaged.